tingo
Language: Rapa Nui · [ˈtiŋo] · Pronunciation: TING-oh
More Rapa Nui words · More words about people
Meaning
to borrow a friend's things one by one until the house is empty
The story
In 2005 this word fronted 'The Meaning of Tingo', the bestseller that set off the whole untranslatable-words craze — this game included. Fair warning: whether Rapa Nui speakers ever used it quite this way is disputed, and the paper trail is thin. The habit, at least, is real everywhere; English calls it scrounging.
The four rounds
- Which language is it from?
- Rapa Nui (Chile)
- Who says it most often?
- A neighbour eyeing your ladder
- Where would you hear it?
- The neighbour back for your drill
- What does it mean?
- Borrowing a house empty, item by item
How it went
Harder than most words so far.
More words about people
- tertulia practice word
a regular get-together to talk, often in a café — a salon - mamihlapinatapai 2026-09-19
the look between two people each waiting for the other to make the first move — a silent standoff - whānau practice word
the extended family, cousins and all - campanilismo blind word
loyalty to your own town above all others — parochialism - imieniny practice word
your name day, the feast of the saint you are named after - koumbaros blind word
the wedding sponsor, often godparent to the first child — the best man
2026-10-03 · ‹ Previous word · All words